Wilier-Vittoria: UCI MTB World Championships 2026, Val di Sole - Recap

The World Championships in Val di Sole are now in the books. It was an intense weekend for the Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team, which once again fought hard and gave everything on home trails. The results may have fallen a little short of expectations, but the team once again showed plenty of character and determination.

In the Elite men’s XCO race, won by Tom Pidcock, Simone Avondetto had to settle for 13th place, unable to get involved in the fight for the medals. Juri Zanotti, fresh from winning the rainbow jersey in Wednesday’s Team Relay, finished 21st, while Luca Braidot crossed the line in 24th.

“I came here with the goal of winning a medal, but there was simply nothing I could do,” admitted Italian XCO champion Avondetto. “I tried, but at a certain point I faded a little and the riders who finished ahead of me were simply stronger. In the end, it’s not a terrible result, but I was hoping for more because at the World Championships, ultimately, the podium is what really counts. Still, racing a home World Championships was incredibly emotional and it’s an experience I’ll definitely remember.”

“My build-up to this race wasn’t perfect and I hadn’t been feeling particularly good over the last few days,” added Zanotti. “I tried not to think about it and just gave everything I had. Unfortunately, I also had a couple of chain drops that slowed me down even more. It’s not the result I wanted, but I’m also coming off a long stretch of racing, so it wasn’t easy to maintain peak form for so long. And I think this World Championships had one of the highest levels we’ve ever seen. Still, feeling the support of the crowd throughout these days was amazing. Seeing so many young riders and kids coming up to ask us for photos was probably the best part.”

The best result for Wilier-Vittoria came from Gustav Heby Pedersen, who narrowly missed out on the podium in the U23 race. The young Dane finished 4th, just a handful of seconds away from a medal, once again confirming the excellent form he carries into the final part of the season. His sister Sofie Heby Pedersen finished 21st in the Elite women’s race, while Canada’s Ella MacPhee took 19th among the U23 women.

“Right after the finish I was really disappointed. When you come that close to a medal, it’s hard to feel satisfied,” admitted Gustav. “But after having a little time to process it, I’m starting to realise that fourth place at a World Championships is actually a pretty good result. I finished only 20 seconds off the rainbow jersey and gave everything I had, but three riders were simply stronger than me. It was my final U23 World Championships and I would have loved to close this chapter with a medal, but I’m taking away a lot of confidence and even more motivation. I can’t wait to come back next year and test myself in the Elite category. Racing a World Championships in Italy with Wilier-Vittoria was really special.”

The focus now shifts to the final two rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, both taking place in the United States: first in Soldier Hollow on 19–20 September, followed by Lake Placid from 2–4 October.